What began as a domestic dispute in Pelzer late Thursday ended with a man being shot by a deputy, Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride said.

McBride said a husband and wife had been involved in a dispute at a home on Lebby Street in Pelzer around 5 p.m., and the wife left the home to call 911 and report what happened. McBride said the wife asked deputies to go by the home and check on her husband because she believed he was suicidal.

When the first deputy arrived, McBride said, the husband met the officer at the door of the home and began firing shots at him. McBride said the deputy returned gunfire and struck the man, possibly in the abdomen.

The man retreated into the home but continued firing shots, McBride said.

McBride said the deputy was able to take cover.

McBride said additional deputies that had arrived were able to talk to the man and persuade him to come out of the house with his gun down. McBride said that after the man came out of the house, he struggled with deputies before they were able to take him into custody.

The man, who is about 60, was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital for treatment of his gunshot wound.

"You never know what you're going to come up on when you are an officer responding to a domestic situation," McBride said. "We are thankful that the deputy is OK and we hope the man at the home will be, too. We never want to shoot anybody."

Neither the name of the injured man nor the identity of the deputy has been disclosed by the Sheriff's Office.

McBride said that none of his deputies were injured. He said the deputy who shot the man has been with the Sheriff's Office for about two years and is an "even-keel deputy and a good man."

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Marsha Slayton, who lives near where the officer-involved shooting took place in Pelzer, describes the incident on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018.
Ken Ruinard, Anderson Independent Mail

The deputy involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave, McBride said.

The State Law Enforcement Division has been called to investigate the shooting and agents remained on scene as of 9 p.m., agency spokesman Thom Berry said. It is typical for SLED to be called in to investigate officer-involved shootings.

Berry said late Thursday night that the man who had been shot by a deputy had been released from the hospital.

Lebby and Courtney streets in Pelzer remained shut down to traffic late Thursday.

McBride said that based on preliminary information, he believes that officers have responded to that address for other disputes.

Neighbor Marsha Slayton said she was caring for her mother on nearby Courtney Street when they heard a "funny sound."

She said she didn't know at first that it was gunfire, but when she went outside, she saw "a deputy with his gun out and pointed ... trying to find cover."

"I was really worried about him," she said. "There were a lot of shots."

Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride has confirmed that there has been an officer-involved shooting on Lebby Street in Pelzer. The shooting occurred around 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail

Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride has confirmed that there has been an officer-involved shooting on Lebby Street in Pelzer. The shooting occurred around 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail

Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride has confirmed that there has been an officer-involved shooting on Lebby Street in Pelzer. The shooting occurred around 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail

Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride has confirmed that there has been an officer-involved shooting on Lebby Street in Pelzer. The shooting occurred around 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail